''Trouble in Paradise'' is the seventh studio album by the American musician

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

, released in 1983. It includes "

I Love L.A. "I Love L.A." is a song by the American singer Randy Newman. It was originally released on his 1983 album ''Trouble in Paradise (Randy Newman album), Trouble in Paradise''. The song is about Los Angeles, California, and its Hook (music), hook is ...

" and the first single, "The Blues", a duet with

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

. "Same Girl" is about a woman addicted to heroin. Newman supported the album playing shows with

the Roches The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey. Career In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry" ...

. A cover version of "Real Emotional Girl" by the Canadian singer

Patricia O'Callaghan Patricia Mary O'Callaghan (born October 2, 1970) is a classically trained Canadian singer. She is a soprano who has built an international reputation as a performer of contemporary opera, early 20th-century cabaret music and the songs of Leonard Co ...

appears on her studio album ''

Real Emotional Girl ''Real Emotional Girl'' is the third solo album recorded by the Canadian singer Patricia O'Callaghan. Co-released by the Marquis and Teldec/Atlantic labels in March 2001, it features the classically trained soprano’s interpretations of several ...

'' (2001).

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote: "Newman inhabits his characters so completely that he makes us uneasy, wondering how much self-identification he has invested in their creation. His work achieves its power by that very confusion." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' noted that "Newman still has not the least desire to play it safe: he is still tossing up the great American contradictions—the seductiveness of racism and the paranoia of sex—like a circus performer juggling machetes, with the same appalling, exhilarating effect." The ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' determined that most of the songs "defy humming... A couple are essentially free verse set to music." ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'' determined that "the polished sound of the album makes it his most commercial effort, yet he has kept his humor and wit alive." The album placed 13th in the 1983 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, and it was ranked as number 67 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s 100 Greatest Albums of the 80s list.

Track listing

All songs written by Randy Newman. LP Side 1 # "

" – 3:29 # "Christmas in Capetown" – 4:21 # "The Blues" – 3:01 # "Same Girl" – 2:53 # "Mikey's" – 2:10 # "My Life Is Good" – 4:38 LP Side 2 # "Miami" – 4:04 # "Real Emotional Girl" – 2:28 # "Take Me Back" – 4:09 # "There's a Party at My House" – 2:50 # "I'm Different" – 2:33 # "Song for the Dead" – 3:00

Personnel

– vocals, piano, synthesizers, arranger, conductor *

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

– guitar, "I Love L.A." Background vocals *

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto (band), Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrot ...

– farfisa organ, Fender Rhodes, "I Love L.A." Background vocals *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthes ...

– synthesizers, piano on "Mikey's", hammond organ on "Miami" *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass guitarist and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts ...

– bass guitar-"I Love L.A." Background vocals *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundr ...

– drums-"I Love L.A." Background vocals *

Lenny Castro Lenny Castro (born September 19, 1956) is an American percussionist from the Los Angeles area. He is one of the most prolific percussionists of all time, appearing on hundreds of albums, including those by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Maroon ...

– percussion- "I Love L.A." Background vocals *

Paulinho Da Costa Paulinho da Costa (, born Paulo Roberto da Costa on May 31, 1948) is a Brazilian percussionist. Beginning his career as a samba musician in Brazil, he moved to the United States in the early 1970s and worked with Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Me ...

– percussion on "Take Me Back", "Christmas in Capetown" and "The Blues" * Ralph Grierson – piano on "Same Girl" and "Real Emotional Girl" *

Neil Larsen Neil Larsen (born August 7, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist, musical arranger and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Sarasota, Florida before relocating to New York and then, in 1977, Los Angeles. Early life Larsen was ...

– piano solo on "The Blues" *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...

– guitar on "I'm Different", guitar solo on "The Blues", mandolin on "Miami" *

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Beth Hart, Stevie Nicks, Miranda ...

– rhythm guitar on "I Love L.A" *

– vocals on "The Blues" *

Larry Williams Lawrence Eugene Williams (May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist from New Orleans. He is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to ...

– horns on "Take Me Back" and "I Love L.A" *Steve Madaio – horns on "Take Me Back" *

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and R&B saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's album '' ...

– horns on "Take Me Back", sax solo on "My Life Is Good" *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', '' Rock with Y ...

– horns on "There's A Party at My House" *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...

, Jon Smith – horns on "There's A Party at My House" and "Mickey's" *

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter who has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet " Up Where We Belong", and in 1987 fo ...

Wendy Waldman Wendy Waldman (born Wendy Steiner on November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Early life Waldman grew up in the Los Angeles area and was raised in a musical environment. Her father Fred Steiner was a ...

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

– backing vocals on "I'm Different" and "Christmas in Capetown" *

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...

– backing vocals on "Take Me Back" and "Christmas in Capetown" *

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. Over the course of a career that spans five decades and 15 studio albums, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, an ...

, Arno Lucas, Leslie Smith – backing vocals on "Miami" *

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician. She was the keyboardist and one of the vocalists and songwriters of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, notably Chic ...

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...

– backing vocals on "I Love L.A" * ;Technical *

Russ Titelman Russ Titelman (born August 16, 1944, Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has to date won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song " Higher Love", and his se ...

- producer - "We Love It" Background vocals *

Lenny Waronker Lenny Waronker (born October 3, 1941) is an American record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Bros. Records, and later, as the co-founder and co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment ...

-producer - "We Love It" Background vocals *Mark Linett – recording engineer, mix engineer *Tim Newman – cover photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control Randy Newman albums 1983 albums Reprise Records albums Albums produced by Russ Titelman Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Albums arranged by Randy Newman Albums conducted by Randy Newman